For Improvement in Sickness. And grant, O Lord, that he may be more desirous that this affliction should be sanctified, than that it should be removed. Give him grace to profit by this visitation, as an occasion of spiritual improvement. May it awaken in his mind a more lively sense of the shortness and uncertainty of this present life, and of the vast importance of being prepared for a future state. Grant him that repentance which is not to be repented of, and that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ which reneweth the heart, worketh by love, and overcometh the world. May he look unto Jesus as the author and finisher of his faith, and the end of the law for righteousness to those who believe. O visit him with thy salvation; support him by thy grace; do for him, and work in him, whatever is necessary for his present comfort and eternal good; and grant him such a lively hope of thy mercy in Jesus Christ, that he may say with thy apostle, For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But thou knowest, Lord, the weakness of our nature, and how little it is that we can bear. That his patience fail not, and for the glory of thy great name, wilt thou return in mercy and say to this affliction, It is enough. All medicines act by thy decree; all means prevail if thou shalt bless them. Bless, we beseech thee, the means and remedies used and applied for restoring our brother to health and ease. Give wisdom to those who minister, and strength to him who receives them. But let no confidence in natural means or human skill diminish his hope and trust in thee. If it be thy good pleasure that his health may be restored, may his love to thee increase, and a thankful sense of thy goodness induce him to devote the residue of his life to the God who giveth it. May the remainder of his days be spent in thy service and to thy glory. And whatever may be thy wise purpose respecting For a Person in a Decline, or dangerously sick. his term of days here on the earth, give him grace, we beseech thee, so to take thy visitation, that, after this painful life is ended, he may dwell with thee in life everlasting. Dispose his heart to return his spirit willingly to thee who gavest it, as into the hands of a faithful Creator; and with great humility and a deep sense of thy goodness, to look and hope for thy salvation in Jesus Christ. And grant, O Lord, that each and all of us, in our best estate of health, may seriously consider, and continually remember, how frail and sinful and mortal we are. May we not boast ourselves of tomorrow, nor forget our dependence upon thee. May we not abuse thy patience and long-suffering by sinful vanities, nor incumber our minds with needless cares, deceitful pleasures, or unprofitable pursuits of this present world. Grant us grace to pass the time of our sojourning here in thy faith and fear; and to live so righteously, soberly and godly in this present world, as becometh those who must shortly die; as becometh those who are redeemed from death by the precious blood of Jesus Christ; as becometh those who must soon appear before thy judgment seat. Hear us, O merciful God, we humbly beseech thee, for thy mercy's sake in Jesus Christ. Amen. For a Person in a Decline, or dangerously sick. O MOST merciful and gracious God, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and our only refuge in distress, with great reverence and humility, and a deep sense of our unworthiness, we would bow ourselves in the dust before thee. To thee belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have sinned and done wickedly. Remember not, Lord, our For a Person in a Decline, or dangerously sick. offences, but thy mercy to mankind in Jesus Christ. For his sake we beseech thee to blot out our offences, and forgive our multiplied transgressions. Most just art thou, O Lord, in all thy dealings with the sons of men. Affliction cometh not of the dust; thy righteous providence governeth all things here below. Sickness and pains and sorrows are the dispensations of thy hand, and are less than our sins deserve. In the midst of life we are in death; to whom can we fly for help and salvation but unto thee who for our sins art justly displeased! Trusting in thy compassionate mercy, we beseech thee, O God, to accept our prayers and intercessions for this thy servant. Do thou, to whom belong the issues of life and death, and in whom alone dwelleth all the fulness of mercy and grace, strengthen, support and comfort him according to the necessity of his case. Give him unfeigned repentance for all the errors of his life past, and a steadfast faith in thy Son Jesus Christ. Endue his soul with patience and resignation to thy holy will. Enable him to see love in thy rod and justice in thy dealings, and to bow in submission before thee. May he neither despise thy chastening nor faint under thy rebukes, but make improvement from this visitation, as an opportunity for his soul's benefit. May his heart be raised in hope and love to thee. Reveal to his soul the comforts of thy mercy in Jesus Christ, and of thy reconciled countenance. Forsake him not in this momentous trial of his faith and patience, but visit him with thy salvation. Preserve him, if such be thy good pleasure, from bodily pains, and discouragement of mind. Whatever of good is fitting for us to ask and for him to receive, we beseech thee in thy mercy to bestow. Prolong his days here on the earth, for the comfort of his friends, and that he may do good in his generation. Bless the food and the remedies For a Person in a Decline, or dangerously sick. administered to the increase of his bodily strength, and, if it be thy good pleasure, to his restoration to perfect health. Do thou, who heardst the prayers of Hezekiah on the bed of sickness, lengthen his years on earth, and help him to devote them to thee in a holy and obedient walking before thee. But if thou hast in thy wisdom otherwise appointed, and whether sooner or later it shall be thy pleasure to remove him from this life, fit and prepare him, we humbly beseech thee, for immortal blessedness. Reform whatever is amiss in the temper and disposition of his mind. Give him unfeigned repentance for all the sins of his past life; mercifully forgive whatever offences he may have committed against thee. Grant him a sound and steadfast and victorious faith in our Savior Christ. Raise his affections from the things of this world to the joys of immortality. Make his repentance perfect, his faith lively and strong, his hope steadfast, his reason clear, his patience unshaken, his submission humble, and his resignation complete. And when the lamp of life shall expire, when the time shall come, whether soon, or at some distant period, that his soul shall be freed from its mortal prison, may it find a safe and easy passage to the world above; and, being washed and sanctified in the blood of Christ, be numbered among the spirits of just men made perfect. And now, what, Lord, is our hope? truly our hope is in thee. Whom else have we in heaven, and what is there on earth that we can reasonably desire in comparison of thee, our God and Savior? Make us ever mindful of the time when we shall lie down to sleep in the dust. May we so apply our hearts unto true wisdom, that we may die the death of the righteous, and our last end be like his. Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not thy merciful ears to our prayers, but spare A Prayer for a sick Person. us, good Lord, spare the people whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. O holy, just and merciful God, thou righteous Savior of a sinful world, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death. Preserve us through life from the peril of temptation, and suffer us not, at our last hour, for any fear of death, to fall from thee. Raise us, we beseech thee, from the death of sin to a life of righteousness, that when we depart this life we may rest in Jesus Christ; and at the general resurrection, in the last day, be found acceptable in thy sight, and receive, through the merits of the Savior's blood, the rewards and felicity prepared for the righteous in heaven. With those who have departed this life in thy faith and fear, may we have our perfect consummation and bliss, in thy eternal kingdom of life and glory, through the merits of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. A Prayer for a Sick Person, when there appeareth but little or no hope of recovery. O FATHER of mercies and God of all comfort, with whom belong the issues of life and death, and who art our only hope in time of danger or distress, with deep reverence and humility we would look unto thee for succor in behalf of this thy servant here lying under thy hand in great weakness of body. Behold him, O Lord, in mercy, and support him with thy heavenly grace; though the outward man decay and nature fail, strengthen him, we beseech thee, with thy Holy Spirit. Remember not, Lord, his offences past; grant him, O merciful God, through the merits of a righteous Savior, repentance unfeigned and sincere for all his sins, and that righteousness which is by faith in Jesus Christ. |